West Fargo Public Library board awards carpet contract, agrees to new financial summary and hears staffing and usage update

The West Fargo Public Library Board on Aug. 14 approved a bid to replace worn carpet on the library’s main floor and stairways, agreed to adopt a condensed monthly financial report format while retaining detailed line-item reports for transparency, and heard updates from Library Director Jenna on staffing and usage at the new satellite location.

The board voted to award the carpet-replacement contract to Allstate’s Flooring for the reduced project scope — which covers the main floor and all stairways but not the upper-level shelving area — citing lower disruption to library services and lower capital costs. Jenna, the library director, told the board the full-building replacement would have required disassembling shelving and adding structural bracing under the balcony, a step that would have forced the library to suspend regular programs in children’s areas.

The move to a smaller footprint, Jenna said, preserves services while addressing the most heavily damaged areas. She also said the school district, which owns the building, provided designer services earlier in the project selection but declined to contribute to the capital cost; the library’s lease assigns replacement responsibility to the library.

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